Technological advances in computer printer technologies have made computer printers less expensive and thus, widely available to all computer users. Currently available printers are able to produce full-color and highly detailed images. Digital cameras have also become widespread and are often used in place of conventional cameras due to their versatility and functionality. For example, images obtained with digital cameras are easily downloadable to a computer where a user is able to collect and manipulate the various images and print them out using the high quality printers of today.
The images and documents created on the printers are often printed on a printing medium, such as a piece of paper. However, standard printer paper is typically non-rigid. To make the printed information more sturdy and suitable for visual display, the printed paper is usually attached to a backing or other rigid support structure. However, attaching the printed paper to the backing is time consuming and requires use of additional materials.
One such type of backing that is used is construction paper. Construction paper is typically a thick, rigid paper of varying colors that is often used in the craft industry. Another type of backing that may be used to make a print medium rigid is corrugated paperboard or cardboard. Cardboard is typically made with three layers of paper stock, where a middle corrugated layer is sandwiched between two flat paper layers. The middle layer is corrugated by forming the middle layer in a pattern of alternating ridges and grooves, with the peaks and troughs of the ridges and grooves being attached to the interior surfaces of the two flat paper layers, typically with an adhesive.
In addition to making the printed information rigid, the backing may be bent or folded into various shapes for the creation of decorative objects. Possible uses for the backings include forming a curved media in the shape of a rigid cylinder for displaying advertisements on a restaurant table, incorporating the backing into various craft projects or figures to produce decorations for holidays and parties, or making protective and insulating gift packages. However, since printers and copiers are limited to the thickness of printing medium that the printer or copier may accept for printing, passage of a cardboard or construction paper backing through the printer may be problematic since most printers require a print medium having a caliper thickness of 0.040 inches or less.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,938 to Lingle et al. discloses a printable, corrugated paperboard. The paperboard in Lingle et al. is constructed from three layers of paper having a middle corrugated layer that is sandwiched between two outside layers. The paperboard has a combined thickness of less than 0.042 inches allowing the paperboard to pass through a printer. However, the corrugated layer in the paperboard of Lingle et al. is glued to the outside layers, has a set thickness, is not expandable to a greater thickness and is not collapsible.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a paper or printer medium that is thin enough in a collapsed state to have an image disposed thereon and pass through a typical printer, and which may be subsequently transformed to a rigid, sturdy structure for use in creating objects displaying the information printed on the paper or printer medium.